Recipe: Marvellous marzipan

Eric Akis, Times Colonist05.04.2012

While almond paste may be incorporated into baked goods, marzipan is a more refined product that's used to create fancy sweets, such as petit fours and items that are just made of marzipan, such as fruits, animals and holiday shapes.

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Q: I have been told that almond paste is only available at Christmas. Can marzipan be used instead? What is the difference? — Pat Brown

A: Almond paste is made of blanched ground almonds, sugar (in the form of syrup) and glycerine or another liquid. The "other" liquid, depending on the recipe, could be citrus juice, liqueur or rose water.

Almond extract is sometimes added to almond paste to intensify the flavour.

According to Regan Daley’s book In The Sweet Kitchen, almond paste is used in many traditional European pastries, baked goods and confections, such as macaroons. Daley says almond paste should not be confused with marzipan, a similar paste confection, but one that is used in different ways and is quite a bit sweeter, thanks to a higher ratio of sugar to almonds.

To prove that point, here is a simple recipe for marzipan in the Joy of Cooking: After beating one egg white, gradually mix in one cup of almond paste. After that, one and half cups of icing sugar is blended in, creating a paste that is sweeter, pliable and much smoother than coarser-in texture almond paste.

While almond paste may be incorporated into baked goods, marzipan is a more refined product that’s used to create fancy sweets, such as petit fours and items that are just made of marzipan, such as fruits, animals and holiday shapes. According to the New Food Lover’s Companion, some commercial marzipan fruit is coloured so convincingly that it can almost be mistaken for the real thing.

Marzipan is also rolled into thin sheets and used to cover cakes, or cut into strips to form ribbons, bows and other shapes used for edible decoration.

Whoever told Pat almond paste was only available at Christmas was mistaken. If you’re a keener, have almonds, sugar and one of the other liquids noted above on hand and find a recipe, such as I did in the Joy of Cooking and several other books, you can make your own any time of the year. Or, if that sounds like too much work, you could buy ready-to-use almond paste at a place specializing in baking and dessert supplies. In Victoria, that would be the impressive Creating Occasions at 776 Spruce Ave. For more information about that operation, go to creatingoccasions.com.

As for marzipan, if you have almond paste, you could make your own as described above. You could also take the easy route and buy it ready-made. In Victoria, you can buy it at the Dutch Bakery at 718 Fort St. On its website, thedutchbakery.com, the company says it makes its own additive-free marzipan from California almonds and sugar. It’s available in many forms, such as plain bars, chocolate-covered bars, fruit and in bulk.

In today’s recipe, I made a classic sweet by stuffing an oblong piece of marzipan into a pitted date. Before doing so, I flavoured the marzipan with coconut and chopped, dried cranberries. The dates I used were the large and easy-to-pit Medjool dates, sold in the produce section of some supermarkets. I bought them at Thrifty Foods.

RECIPE

Marzipan-stuffed dates with coconut and cranberries

You can prepare the dates several hours before needed.

After stuffing, set on a serving plate and tightly wrap; keep at room temperature until needed.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: None

Makes: 12 stuffed dates

12 Medjool dates

1/3 lb. (150 grams) marzipan

2 Tbsp. medium unsweetened coconut flakes

3 Tbsp. dried cranberries

Make a lengthwise slit in each date. Gently squeeze the date open and remove the pit. Knead the marzipan to soften it, then set in a small bowl. Work the coconut and cranberries into the marzipan.

Take 1 Tbsp. of the marzipan and shape it into an oblong ball. Stuff the marzipan into the centre of a date. Gently squeeze the date shut, leaving some of the marzipan still exposed. Repeat with remaining dates.

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